Elevator car, its machine room, and an elevator traveling cable including both electrical and fluid conductors connected therebetween



Oct. 3, 1967 E. J. CONNELLY ET AL 3,344,888 ELEVATOR CAR, ITS MACHINE ROOM, AND AN ELEVATOR TRAVELING CABLE INCLUDING BOTH ELECTRICAL AND FLUID CONDUCTORS CONNECTED THEREBETWEEN Filed March 4, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f INVENTORS EDWARD J. CONNELLY ROBERT MARTIN MEREDITH REESE DAVIS ZArm/ ATTORNEY 3,344,888 AND AN ELEVATOR TRAVELING E. J. CONNELLY ET L ITS MACHINE ROOM,

CONDUCTORS'CONNECTED THEREBETWEEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS I EDWARD J. CONNELLY ROBERT MARTIN MEREDITH REESE DAVIS sYflrfl/a k ATTORNEY Oct. 3, 1967 ELEVATOR CAR,

CABLE INCLUDING BOTH ELECTRICAL AND FLUID Filed March 4, 1965 United States Patent ELEVATOR CAR, ITS MACHINE ROOM, AND AN ELEVATOR TRAVELING CABLE INCLUDING BOTH ELECTRICAL AND FLUID CONDUCTORS CONNECTED THEREBETWEEN Edward J. Connelly, Scarsdaie, N.Y., and Robert Martin, Ridgewood, and Meredith Reese Davis, Roselle, N..I., assignors to Otis Elevator Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 437,217 8 Claims. (Cl. 187-1) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elevator traveling cable combining both fluid and electrical conducting means in which the electrical conducting means are arranged in a plurality of multi-wire strands of individually insulated conductors. The cable also includes a supporting element for suspending the cable in the elevator hatchway by anchoring it to its elevator car and to a junction box about midway up the hatchway. This element is so located with respect to the other elements of the cable that it supports the weight of the cable without unduly restricting the ability of the conductors to slide with respect to one another in the bight formed in the cable.

This invention relates to elevators. It particularly pertains to flexible members which are suspended from elevator cars in hoistways.

In the ordinary elevator installation a plurality of electrical conductors, arranged in what is commonly called a traveling cable, are suspended from the elevator car to a hoistway junction box to carry operating information from electromechanical switches on the car to associated control equipment in the machine room. As indicated by its name, this cable travels with its car as the car traverses its hoistway and, for this reason, is frequently confined in a vertically extending trough or chute to a limited portion of the hoistway so as to prevent its entanglement with objects protruding therein. Chutes are particularly useful in open hoistways wherein air currents may cause unconfined cables to sway considerably and to catch on otherwise non-obstructive objects.

Occasionally, in addition to a traveling cable, a hose may also be suspended from an elevator car to hang freely in the hoistway. This is done where the elevator operates in an atmosphere that may be explosive. In such installations, the hose carries a non-combustible gas to the contact areas of the electro-mechanical switches on the car so as to flood those areas and purge them of their combustible atmospheres. As a result, electric arcs due to switching are reduced and explosions, which otherwise might be caused by such arcs, are precluded.

Where a gas hose is suspended in an exposed hoistway, such as in a gantry tower for rockets, it is desirable to confine it in a trough in the same manner as a traveling cable. Unfortunately, a traveling cable and a hose become entangled if placed in the same trough. Thus, an individual trough or chute must be provided for each flexible member in installations having both a traveling cable and a hose suspended from the elevator car. This, understandably, increases the cost of both the materials and the labor in the construction of an installation. Furthermore, the addition of a second vertically extending trough in an open hoistway of the structural steel framework type increases the surface area offering resistance to the wind thereby increasing the forces the framework must withstand. This, in turn, requires that the towers structural strength be increased and further increases the cost of the installation.

It. is therefore an object of this invention to reduce the cost of both material and labor in the construction of elevators which may operate in or near explosive atmospheres.

It is another object of this invention to eliminate a vertically extending chute in an elevator installation in which a hose is suspended from the car.

One of the features of this invention is the provision of electric and fluid conducting connections between the moving car and its stationary hoistway structure by a single flexible, self supporting connecting member.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and appended claims which follow, when considered together with the drawing, which shows a preferred and alternate arrangements of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of an elevator hoistway including an elevator car with a flexible member suspended therefrom and a chute for confining the flexible member;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of a preferred arrangement of the flexible member shown in FIGURE 1 together with an exploded view of the parts of one preferred means for suspending this arrangement;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the flexible member shown in FIGURE 1 together with an exploded view of the parts of another means for suspending it;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the assembled arrangement and suspension means of FIGURE 3 in section;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of one alternate arrangement of the flexible member shown in FIGURE 1 assembled with a means for terminating and suspending this arrangement;

FIGURE 6 is a view of the alternate arrangement of the flexible member shown in FIGURE 5 taken along lines 6-6;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of another alternate arrangement of the flexible member of FIGURE 1.

Illustrated in FIGURE 1 of the drawing is an elevator car 10 provided with rails 11 for guiding it during its travel in hoistway 12. Mounted next to one of the guide rails is a vertical chute 13 having a central slot 14. Junction box 15 is attached to the Wall of hoistway 12 in back of chute 13, and is usually located at the approximate center of travel of car 10. Suspended at one end from junction box 15 is a single flexible member or traveling cable 16 which is suspended from car 10 by way of junction box 17 and L-shaped pipe 18 whose one leg is so located in slot 14 that the cable is caused to hang in chute 13 atone side thereof.

Referring to FIGURE 2 of the drawing there is shown a preferred arrangement of traveling cable 16 together with an arrangement for suspending it. Hose 21 forms a core for cable 16 and is surrounded by a shield or casing 22 which may be made of woven steel wire braid which is itself surrounded by a cotton braid casing 23. An inner and outer group of multi-Wire strands 24 encircle cotton braid casing 23 and are protected by it from chafing on steel wire braid casing 22. A cotton braid cover 26 envelops the outer strand group and is protected by a jacket 27 which may be made of butyl or any such suitable material.

Woven steel wire braid casing 22 serves as the supporting element for both the hose and conductors of cable 16 and is made strong enough to support the weight of the cable when suspended. In one embodiment of the arrangement, a steel wire braid having 16 wires of .080" by 9 mils flat stainless steel armor braid has been found to posses a suitable factor of safety for a cable 300 feet long having a butyl jacket with a wall thickness of and a rubber hose having a 4" inside diameter and a /2 outside diameter surrounded by 25 three wire strands of #18 AWG conductors and a telephone pair arranged in a rope lay construction.

Alternate arrangements of traveling cable 16 are shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. In FIGURE 6 a plurality of electrical conductors 25 form the core of cable 16. Surrounding these conductors is a jacket 28 made of rubber or some such suitable composition. Cemented to each other and to jacket 28 and wrapped around the jacket in a helical manner are hose segments 29. Eight segments are illustrated but more or less could be used as desired. Encircling hose segments 29 is a shield or cover 30 for cable 16 composed of a woven steel wire braid which also serves as the support member for the unit arrangement.

The alternate arrangement shown in FIGURE 7 is similar to that of FIGURE 6 except that the electrical conductors 24 surround a center core 31 which may be an air cord support strain wire, as in the present standard traveling cable, or any suitable substitute therefor. In this arrangement center core 31 serves as the support member for the cable in the known manner and woven steel wire braid cover 30 acts only as a shield for hose segments 29.

In FIGURE 5, there is shown a terminal support suitable for one end of the cable arrangement illustrated in FIGURE 6. A sealed gas accumulating chamber 32, arranged to permit hose segments 29 to terminate therein while the remainder of cable 16 internal the hose segments pass therethrough, forms a part of the terminal or junction box. Chamber 32 permits the non-combustible gas to enter openings 33 for passage by means of cable 16 to car 10. Tube or hose outlet 34 is provided to carry gas to chamber 32 from its source or as connection to a distribution line. Connector 35 which may suitably be a standard type CGB straight neck connector provides a gas tight threaded connection to gas chamber 32 and by forcing its neoprene wedge shaped gasket tightly around the exterior of hose segments 29 forms a gas tight connection to the hose.

Any of several suitable arrangements may be used for suspending the cable. One such is shown in FIGURE 2 and includes a spindle 40 having a head 41 and a threaded shank 42. Formed axially in head 41 and shank 42 is an aperture of sufi'icient diameter to permit an exposed portion of hose 21 and metal braid casing 22 to pass therethrough. Cut into shank 42 are a plurality of longitudinal slots 44. Clamp washers 45 and 46 also form part of this arrangement. Each clamp washer has two keys 47 and 48 formed to fit snugly in slots 44. A bracket 58 having an aperture 51 is rigidly mounted in any wellknown manner on a stable object (not shown) and serves as the support for the suspension means. Nut 52 threadable on shank 42 unites spindle 40, clamp washers 45 and 46, and itself as a unit. Nut 53 also threadable on shank 42 joins the unit united by nut 52 to bracket 50 when shank 42 is in registry with aperture 51.

In hanging the cable 16 spindle 40 is fitted onto an exposed portion of braid covered hose 21 and is passed down the hose until a portion of metal braid casing 22 extends beyond the spindle. The extended portion of braid casing 22 is unbraided and fanned out into its component wires 60. In accordance with the number of wires used in making braid casing 22 one or more is placed in each slot 44 and spread over the edge of head 41. Thus for the above mentioned embodiment having 16 wires it is suitable to use a spindle having eight longitudinal slots so that two component wires of casing 22 can be placed in each longitudinal slot. The uncovered portion of hose 21 may then be threaded through clamp washers 45 and 46, nut 52, aperture 51 and nut 53. Keys 47 and 48 of clamp washer 45 are fitted into two slots 44 and washer 45 is dropped onto wires 60 spread on head 41. The ends of wires 60 are then folded back toward shank 42 so as to lay on washer 45. Keys 47 and 48 of clamp washer 46 are fitted into two slots 44 and washer 46 is dropped onto wires 60 laying on washer 45. Nut 52 is thereupon threaded onto shank 42 until wires 60 are clamped between head 41 and washers 45 and 46. The exposed end of shank 42 beyond nut 52 is passed through aperture 51 in bracket 58 and nut 53 is threaded thereon until the unit is immovably joined to bracket 50.

Another arrangement for suspending the cable arrangement of FIGURE 2 or that of FIGURE 6 is indicated in general in the lower half of FIGURE 5 and is illustrated in detail in FIGURES 3 and 4. Components of this arrangement include female clamp plate 70 and its cooperating male clamp plate 71. Bolts 72 serve to unite clamp plates 70 and 71 as a unit and to join that unit to slotted bracket 73 by means of washers 74 and nuts 75. Bracket 7 3 is mounted in any well-known manner on a stable object (not shown) and serves as the support for plates 70 and 71. Apertures 76 in bracket 73 and apertures 77 in male clamp plate 71 are smooth surfaced and permit bolts 72 to pass freely therethrough. In female clamp plate 71) apertures 78 are partially threaded to engage bolts 72.

Slot 79 in bracket 73 and central aperture 80 in female clamp plate 78 are suitably formed to admit hose 21 covered by metal braid casing 22 for the arrangement of FIGURE 2 or to admit the entire cable in the alternate arrangement of FIGURE 6. Wall surface 82 of aperture 80 is divergent and forms rounded shoulder 83 with fiat top surface 84. Formed axially through male clamp plate 71 is aperture 85 for receiving uncovered hose 21 in the preferred arrangement or uns-heathed cable 16 in the alternate arrangement. Clamp plate 71 also is formed with a flat bottom surface 86 and a shank 87. Shank 87 is convergent and at its widest joins flat bottom surface 86 to form hollow 88.

In assembling the forementioned components to form a suspension means by which to hang cable 16, an exposed portion of braid encased hose 21 in the arrangement of FIGURE 2 or the entire cable 16 in the alternate arrangement of FIGURE 5 is threaded through apertures 81) in clamp plate 70 until a portion of the metal braid casing extends beyond the clamp plate. The extended portion of the metal braid casing is then unbraided into its component wires 60 which are fanned out and laid on flat top surface 84. Uncovered hose 21 or unsheathed cable 16 is passed through aperture 85 of clamp plate 71 which is brought into contact with clamp plate 70. Bolts 72 then are inserted into apertures 77 and are screwed into apertures 78 until they join plates 70 and 71 in a unit. Thereby wires 60 are clamped between shank 86 and wall surface 82, hollow 88 and rounded shoulder 83, and flat bottom surface 86 and flat top surface 84. The metal braid covered hose 21 or cable 16 is then admitted into slot 79 and the unit formed by clamp plates 70 and 71 is placed on bracket 73 with bolts 72 inserted in apertures 76. Washers 74 and nuts 75 are then screwed onto bolts 72 until the unit is immovably joined to bracket 73.

Although a certain type braid casing has been mentioned herein as being satisfactory for the specific cable design of the preferred arrangement it is to be understood that the other arrangements as well as the size and length of an individual cable may make it preferable to use different braid casings. Therefore since many variations may be made and since many apparently widely different arrangements of the invention can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with an elevator car vertically movable in a hoistway, a flexible member suspended from said car so as to hang in said hoistway with a bight which is movable with vertical movement of said car, said flexible member providing both electrical and fluid connections between said car and its machine room and comprising fluid conducting means, a plurality of multi-wire strands of individually insulated electrical conductors in a lay construction proximate said fluid conducting means, a flexible jacket encircling said conductors and a metal supporting element co-axial with said jacket extending the length of said flexible member serving as means supporting the weight of said suspended flexible member without unduly restricting the ability of said stranded electrical conductors to slide relative to one another in the movable bight formed in said member.

2. In combination with an elevator car as in claim 1, wherein said fluid conducting means includes a plurality of hose segments bonded to each other and to said flexible jacket to encincle said jacket.

3. In combination with an elevator car as in claim 2, wherein said metal supporting element serving as means supporting the weight of said suspended flexible member includes an air cord support strain wire which comprises the core of said flexible member.

4. In combination with an elevator car as in claim 2, wherein said metal supporting element serving as means supporting the weight of said suspended flexible member includes a woven steel wire braid enveloping said hose segments.

5. In combination with an elevator car vertically movable in a hoistaway, a traveling cable suspended from said car so as to hang in said hoistway with a bigh-t which is movable with vertical movement of said car, said cable providing both fluid and electrical connections between said car and its machine room and including a hose at its core providing its fluid connection, a woven metal Wire braid casing surrounding the outside of said hose and supporting the weight of said suspended cable, a plurality of multi-wire strands of individually insulated electrical conductors in a lay construction surrounding said metal wire braid casing, and an external jacket encircling said multi-wire strands.

6. In combination with an elevator car as in claim 5, in which a first cotton braid casing is intermediate said metal wire braid casing and said multi-wire strands and a second cotton braid casing is intermediate said multiwire strands and said external jacket.

7. In combination with an elevator car as in claim 6, wherein said metal wire braid casing is a stainless steel armor braid.

8. In combination with an elevator car as in claim 7, wherein said external jacket is butyl and said multiwire strands include a plurality of three wire strands and a telephone pair arranged in a rope lay construction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,096,607 5/1914 Deray 174-47 X 1,864,093 6/1932 Prince 1871 2,035,088 3/1936 McNamce. 2,222,574 11/1940 Robertson 17415 2,371,185 3/1945 Purat.

' FOREIGN PATENTS 307,662 3/ 1929 Great Britain. 957,039 5/1964 Great Britain.

LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH AN ELEVATOR CAR VERTICALLY MOVABLE IN A HOISTWAY, A FLEXIBLE MEMBER SUSPENDED FROM SAID CAR SO AS TO HANG IN SAID HOISTWAY WITH A BIGHT WHICH IS MOVABLE WITH VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF SAID CAR, SAID FLEXIBLE MEMBER PROVIDING BOTH ELECTRICAL AND FLUID CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SAID CAR AND ITS MACHINE ROOM AND COMPRISING FLUID CONDUCTING MEANS, A PLURALITY OF MULTI-WIRE STRANDS OF INDIVIDUALLY INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS IN A LAY CONSTRUCTION PROXIMATE SAID FLUID CONDUCTING 